Florida State football opponent recap: Week 5

This is your one-stop shop for all information regarding how FSU’s 2016 opponents fared the weekend prior. While this is no longer destined to serve its original purpose, i.e. resume for a potential playoff bid, it’s still good to know these things. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. Let’s get to it.

Ole Miss (3-2): Won 48-28 vs. Memphis

Mississippi avenged a loss one year ago to the Tigers in Memphis. In a story you may have heard before, the Rebels jumped out to an early lead, only to look like they may be faltering in the third quarter. But they didn’t, and that’s what counts. Ole Miss had two 100+ yard rushers in the game. The next two weeks feature Bye and Arkansas.

Charleston Southern (3-2): Won 59-58 at Coastal Carolina

This seems like it would have been fun to attend. It’s a rivalry game, too. Good work, Bucs.

Louisville (4-1): Lost 42-36 at Clemson

The national game of the week saw the Cardinals fall in Death Valley. James Quick was knocked out of bounds on 4th and 12 with less than a minute to play inside the Clemson 5-yard-line. SB Nation speculates as to why that might have been. Overall, it was an impressive performance from Louisville, and Lamar Jackson remains the Heisman Trophy favorite even after.

South Florida (4-1): Won 45-20 at Cincinnati

The Bulls hit the jets in the second half to pull away from the Bearcats in Cincinnati. It was another impressive outing from the USF offense, which now ranks 15th in the nation. Marlon Mack broke USF’s career rushing record in the game, and the Bulls look quite formidable in the AAC.

North Carolina (4-1): About that

Miami (4-0): Won 35-21 at Georgia Tech

Miami opened ACC play by defeating the Jackets in Atlanta. The ‘Canes capitalized on two turnovers for defensive touchdowns. Georgia Tech frequently attempted to get to the edges against the Hurricanes on offense, and Miami featured a lot of 3-man fronts. Mark Richt has never lost at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Wake Forest (4-1): Lost 33-16 at NC State

Some might say it’s a shame that these are no longer the UNDEFEATED WAKE FOREST Demon Deacons. The Wolfpack had lots of success on offense against what had been a very solid Wake defense. The ‘Pack jumped out to a 17-point lead early, and it was ultimately too much for the Deacs to overcome, still playing their backup quarterback due to Kendall Hinton’s injury. Wake plays at home against Syracuse before traveling to Doak.

Bye: Unspectacular against Virginia Tech

Clemson (5-0): Won 42-36 vs. Louisville

Call it an ugly win. Argue that this still isn’t the same Clemson. But Deshaun Watson and the Tigers came through in primetime on Saturday night, and CU certainly appears to control the ACC and find itself in line for a second consecutive playoff birth. We don’t need to talk about what it’s going to look like when the ‘Noles face this bunch, yet. Maybe we’ll even just forgo that altogether and go fishing that week, or something.

North Carolina State (3-1): Won 33-16 vs. Wake Forest

It was an encouraging performance against the aforementioned no-longer-undefeated Demon Deacons. Ryan Finley looked really good again, going 23-36 for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. State’s life is about to become significantly more difficult, though. Their next three games are a home contest with Notre Dame, a trip to Clemson, and a trip to Louisville. Good luck with that, ‘Pack.

Boston College (3-2): Won 35-3 vs. Buffalo

BC took down Buffalo at home. They’ve had two weeks to try to forget the debacle they suffered in Blacksburg, Virginia. Hopefully they have, because they have to host Clemson on Friday night. Although, even if they have, that contest might prove to be painfully similar.

Syracuse (2-3): Lost 50-33 vs. Notre Dame

This game was 33-27 Notre Dame at halftime. In fact, the first 5 minutes of the game featured like 36 total points. It was kind of insane. Then, as our friends at TNIAAM have noticed before, the Syracuse offense completely ran out of gas, and Notre Dame pulled away in the second half. Defense: Still bad. Eric Dungey update: Still alive, despite leading the team in rushing. Amba-Etta Tawo is still very good. ‘Cuse goes to Wake Forest next week before returning home to face Virginia Tech.

Florida (4-1): Won 13-6 at Vanderbilt

Wait, you mean to tell me that Will Muschamp was not coaching in this game? This win would have made that man so happy. Florida was determined not to score any more points than it absolutely had to while sitting on hapless Vanderbilt. The Gators are also pretty banged up on the defensive line now, and face a date with LSU on Saturday. We still might see the all-Purdue transfer quarterback battle, which would be a treat.